[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 601 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 601

  To establish the Weather Mitigation Research Office, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 16, 2009

Mrs. Hutchison introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish the Weather Mitigation Research Office, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Weather Mitigation Research and 
Development Policy Authorization Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to develop and implement a 
comprehensive and coordinated national weather mitigation policy and a 
national cooperative Federal and State program of weather mitigation 
research and development.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to a 2003 report by the National Research 
        Council, ``people in drought- and hail-prone areas willingly 
        spend significant resources on weather mitigation programs, and 
        in 2001 there were at least 66 operational programs being 
        conducted in 10 States across the United States. At the same 
        time, less than a handful of weather mitigation research 
        programs are underway worldwide, and related research in the 
        United States has dropped to less than $500,000 per year from a 
        high of $20,000,000 in the late 1970s.'' The NRC report 
        entitled ``Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research'' 
        also states that ``a coordinated national program of weather 
        modification research is needed''. Such a program is supported 
        by States that need a scientific means of evaluating current 
        programs and increasing their effectiveness through applied 
        research.
            (2) Droughts in the United States result in an average 
        economic loss between $6,000,000,000 and $8,000,000,000 
        annually, while severe hail producing storms result in up to 
        $2,300,000,000 damage to crops and over $2,000,000,000 in 
        property loss annually. Snowpack, rain enhancement, and hail 
        suppression weather mitigation projects help reduce these 
        losses, and additional research in these areas will make 
        existing programs even more effective and permit them to better 
        quantify their impacts. Recent droughts in the Western United 
        States have produced low lake levels at Lake Powell and Lake 
        Mead and have led the Seven Colorado River Basin States to 
        create cooperative agreements. A separate cooperative agreement 
        is in place for wintertime snowfall enhancement programs in the 
        States of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming to pursue water 
        augmentation to benefit the entire Colorado River System.
            (3) Past and recent evaluations of the potential for 
        snowpack augmentation by cloud seeding in the Colorado River 
        Basin indicate a significant yield in runoff can be attained 
        through properly designed projects. A 2006 evaluation by the 
        Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior 
        indicates the potential for 800,000 additional acre-feet of 
        water.
            (4) The impacts of possible climate change and the human 
        impact on weather are not well understood. Weather mitigation 
        research could provide data on what, if any, impact pollution 
        may have on the precipitation processes in cloud systems. 
        Research into inadvertent and planned weather mitigation may 
        increase our understanding and knowledge of any potential 
        impacts.
            (5) The recent Weather Damage Modification Program 
        conducted by the Bureau of Reclamation employed a successful 
        model for combining local, State, and Federal resources in 
        providing a means for scientific evaluation of operational 
        cloud-seeding projects (rainfall and snowfall enhancement and 
        hail suppression) in North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, 
        Utah, Nevada, and California.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Advisory Board.--The term ``Advisory Board'' means the 
        Advisory Board established by section 5(b).
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office appointed under section 5(a).
            (3) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Weather 
        Mitigation Research Office established under section 5(a).
            (4) Research and development.--The term ``research and 
        development'' means theoretical analysis, exploration, 
        experimentation, and the extension of investigative findings 
        and theories of a scientific or technical nature into practical 
        application for experimental and demonstration purposes, 
        including the experimental production and testing of models, 
        devices, equipment, materials, and processes.

SEC. 5. WEATHER MITIGATION RESEARCH OFFICE ESTABLISHED.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the National Science 
Foundation the Weather Mitigation Research Office to establish and 
coordinate the national research and development program on weather 
mitigation described in section 6. The Office shall be headed by a 
Director, who shall be appointed by the Director of the National 
Science Foundation.
    (b) Advisory Board.--
            (1) In general.--The Office shall have an Advisory Board, 
        the function of which shall be to advise the Office and to make 
        recommendations to the Office concerning legislation, policies, 
        administration, research, and other matters, consisting of 11 
        members, appointed by the Director of the National Science 
        Foundation, as follows:
                    (A) At least 2 members shall be representatives of 
                States that are currently supporting operational 
                weather mitigation programs.
                    (B) At least 2 members shall be a representative of 
                the National Center for Atmospheric Research of the 
                National Science Foundation.
                    (C) At least 1 member shall be a representative of 
                National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
                    (D) At least 1 member shall be a representative of 
                the American Meteorological Society.
                    (E) At least 1 member shall be a representative of 
                the American Society of Civil Engineers.
                    (F) At least 1 member shall be a representative of 
                the National Academy of Sciences.
                    (G) At least 1 member shall be a representative of 
                the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of 
                the Department of Commerce.
                    (H) At least 1 member shall be a representative of 
                the Department of Agriculture.
                    (I) At least 1 member shall be a representative of 
                institutions of higher education or research institutes 
                with experience in the field.
            (2) Tenure.--A member of the Advisory Board shall serve at 
        the pleasure of the Director of the National Science 
        Foundation.
            (3) Vacancies.--Any vacancy on the Advisory Board shall be 
        filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
    (c) Chair and Vice Chair.--The Advisory Board shall select a Chair 
and Vice Chair from among its members.
    (d) Initial Meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
which all members of the Advisory Board have been appointed, the 
Advisory Board shall hold its first meeting.
    (e) Meetings.--The Advisory Board shall meet at the call of the 
Chair.
    (f) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Advisory Board shall 
constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold hearings.
    (g) Duties of the Office.--
            (1) Studies, investigations, and hearings.--The Office may 
        conduct studies, obtain information, and hold hearings 
        necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
            (2) Cooperation with other agencies.--The Office may 
        cooperate with public or private agencies to promote the 
        purposes of this Act.
            (3) Cooperative agreements.--The Office may enter into 
        cooperative agreements with the head of any department or 
        agency of the United States, an appropriate official of any 
        State or political subdivision of a State, or an appropriate 
        official of any private or public agency or organization to 
        conduct research and development pertaining to weather 
        mitigation.
            (4) Conducting and contracting for research and 
        development.--The Director may conduct or contract for research 
        and development activities in accordance with section 6.

SEC. 6. NATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ON WEATHER 
              MITIGATION.

    (a) Implementation Plan.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with the Advisory 
Board, shall develop and submit to Congress a plan for the 
establishment and coordination of the national research and development 
program required by section 5(a). The plan shall--
            (1) for the 10-year period beginning in the year it is 
        submitted, establish the goals and priorities for Federal 
        research that most effectively advance scientific understanding 
        of weather mitigation;
            (2) describe specific activities required to achieve such 
        goals and priorities, including funding of competitive research 
        grants, training and support for scientists, and participation 
        in international research efforts;
            (3) identify and address, as appropriate, relevant programs 
        and activities of the Federal agencies and departments that 
        would contribute to the program;
            (4) consider and use, as appropriate, reports and studies 
        conducted by Federal agencies and departments, weather 
        modification organizations, and other expert scientific bodies, 
        including the National Research Council report entitled 
        ``Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research'';
            (5) make recommendations for the coordination of program 
        activities with weather mitigation activities of other national 
        and international organizations; and
            (6) estimate Federal funding for research activities to be 
        conducted under the program.
    (b) Program Activities.--The national research and development 
program required by section 5(a) may include the following activities 
related to weather mitigation:
            (1) Interdisciplinary research and development and 
        coordination of research and development and activities to 
        improve understanding of processes relating to planned and 
        inadvertent weather mitigation, including the following:
                    (A) Research related to cloud and precipitation 
                physics.
                    (B) Cloud dynamics and cloud modeling.
                    (C) Improving cloud seeding-related technologies.
                    (D) Severe weather and storm research.
                    (E) Research related to potential adverse affects 
                of weather mitigation.
            (2) Coordination with relevant organizations that engage in 
        weather mitigation research.
            (3) Development through partnerships among Federal 
        agencies, State agencies with weather modification experience, 
        and academic institutions of new technologies and approaches 
        for weather mitigation.
            (4) Establishing scholarships and educational opportunities 
        that encourage an interdisciplinary approach to weather 
        mitigation.
            (5) Promotional activities in accordance with subsection 
        (c).
            (6) Administering the grant program described in subsection 
        (d).
    (c) Promotion of Research and Development.--In order to assist in 
expanding the theoretical and practical knowledge of weather 
mitigation, the Office shall promote and fund research and development, 
studies, and investigations with respect to--
            (1) improved forecast and decision-making technologies for 
        weather mitigation operations, including tailored computer 
        workstations and software and new observation systems with 
        remote sensors; and
            (2) assessments and evaluations of the efficacy of weather 
        mitigation.
    (d) Grant Program for Research and Development.--
            (1) In general.--The Office may establish a grant program 
        for the award of grants to eligible entities for research and 
        development projects that pertain to weather mitigation. To the 
        extent practicable, the grant program shall be modeled after 
        both the Atmospheric Modification Program implemented by the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1980, and 
        the Weather Damage Modification Program implemented by the 
        Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior in 
        2002.
            (2) Federal share.--The Office may not award a grant under 
        this subsection for a project if the Federal share of such 
        project would be greater than 65 percent of the project cost, 
        which may include in-kind services furnished by the 
        participating entity.
            (3) Eligible entities.--For purposes of this subsection, an 
        eligible entity is a State agency, institution of higher 
        education, or nonprofit organization that has--
                    (A) an established background and expertise in the 
                field of weather mitigation; and
                    (B) experience with working with and coordinating 
                with State agencies.
            (4) Use of funds.--A recipient of a grant under this 
        subsection may only use the grant for a research and 
        development project that--
                    (A) pertains to weather mitigation; and
                    (B) was in operation on the day before the date the 
                grant was awarded.

SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT ON ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than January 31, and annually 
thereafter, the Director shall prepare and submit an annual report to 
the President, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation, and the House of Representatives Committee on Science 
and Technology on the activities conducted pursuant to this Act during 
the preceding calendar year, including the following:
            (1) A summary of the achievements of Federal weather 
        mitigation research, including federally supported external 
        research, during the preceding fiscal year.
            (2) An analysis of the progress made toward achieving the 
        goals and objectives of the plan developed under section 6(a), 
        including the identification of trends.
            (3) A copy or summary of the plan required by section 6(a) 
        and any changes made to the plan.
            (4) A summary of agency budgets for weather mitigation 
        activities for the preceding fiscal year.
            (5) Recommendations, if any, regarding additional action or 
        legislation that may be required to assist in achieving the 
        purposes of this Act.
            (6) A description of the relationship between research 
        conducted on weather mitigation and research conducted pursuant 
        to the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2921 et 
        seq.), as well as research on weather forecasting and 
        prediction.
            (7) A description of any potential adverse consequences on 
        life, property, or water resource availability from weather 
        mitigation efforts, and any suggested means of mitigating or 
        reducing such consequences if such efforts are undertaken.
    (b) First Report.--The first report required by subsection (a) 
shall be submitted on January 31 in the second calendar year following 
the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 8. COOPERATION WITH WEATHER MITIGATION RESEARCH OFFICE.

    The head of any department or agency of the United States and the 
head of any other public or private agency or institution that receives 
research funds from the United States shall, to the extent practicable, 
cooperate with the Office for purposes of carrying out this Act.

SEC. 9. FUNDING.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Office for the purposes of carrying out this Act 
$25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014. Amounts 
appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until 
expended.
    (b) Allocation.--Of the amounts appropriated to the National 
Science Foundation under subsection (a) for each fiscal year--
            (1) 66 percent shall be available to, and retained by, the 
        National Science Foundation for use in carrying out its 
        resposibilities under this Act;
            (2) 34 percent shall be transferred by the National Science 
        Foundation to--
                    (A) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration; and
                    (B) the National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration.
    (c) Competitive Grants.--The Director of the National Science 
Foundation and the Administrators of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration and the Aeronautics and Space Administration 
shall each allocate at least 50 percent of the amounts retained by or 
transferred to their respective entities under subsection (b) for each 
fiscal year to competitive grants.
    (d) Gifts.--The Office may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or 
donations of services or property.
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